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WHO I AM I am Vonayen. This is my first time trying this out. I am an adult in the middle working years of my career in the environmental field. WHY I JOINED I joined NF because when I discovered this form, I knew I could fit in here. I hope to find an accountability buddy who may get my crazy way---I build stories to my quests- you will see this. My demon is sugar....very evil. ABOUT ME: I have no evil spawn (children) nor do I intend to spawn any (yes my husband and I are D.I.N.K.s). I am dyslexic ....for real ... it sucks. Due to a recent early onset osteoarthritis diagnosis (genetic -thanks mom), I have had to step back a bit but and re-grow a new body ....otherwise my fitness portfolio looks like this: · 2016- 100 km ultra trail race finisher; love trails and running...but not active in running right now; · Current brown belt in Goju karate and green belt in weapons at my local dojo. · I was a level green in kick boxing, but had to stop that due to the arthritis, but I still like to hit things. · I also started to train in Krav maga and self defence (but that is all on-line training). · I practice Tai Chi 2x / week and have been working with spirit energy and mediation · I also practice yoga when my body needs it I am guessing I will fit best with the Rangers maybe when I move past this first challenge?? But I may move around a bit depending on my journey. MAIN QUEST: For this 4 week Challenge – I am going to focus on powering up my training for a 25 km fast pack/power walking race in May. Sadly not running yet My Quest is to: permanently remove 5 to 8lbs by week 4. My Battle Strategy: get in some (but less than normal) cardio to keep up my inner game (heart health- bad stuff runs in the family), gain some muscle (this is new to me) and endurance (I can do this in my sleep). Minor Quest 1 Fitness Battle Plan) 1) Endurance –Every Sunday - Time on my feet – Long walks...(these will vary from 8-16 km as I follow a training plan I have for race prep). Monday will always be an active rest day 2) Cardio – 2x/week cutting back to 30 min form 60 - Time in the saddle – (Spin bike) for leg speed, cardio, leg and core strength, I may switch it up once in awhile for rowing we will see how my story goes. 3) Gain some muscle- I suck at this part– 3x/week Lift heavy things and 2x/week HILLS walk on an incline on the treadmill to power up leg muscle ( since my knees can’t handle proper full squats let alone with added weight I do this to modify) Minor Quest 2- Nutrition Battle Plan) – for this challenge I will keep this simple for my sanity 1) Meal Plan – Carry water (aka health potion) with me always; plan my meals each week 2) Meal Prep – set time aside to prepare, for example make lunch the night before (wash salad greens etc.), cook on Sunday for frozen lunches for the week and this way I follow through with my plan... 3) Nutrition Tracking – track to stay accountable for my planning and prep Minor Quest 3- Life Power UP Battle Plan) 1) Clean and Tidy – I am not. I will improve and vow to spend 10 min per day minimum to work at tidying the main living space

Dear Bent-over Rows It's not you. It's me. I know I struggle to get your form quite right. I know that when time is running short on the gym, you're the one I skip. You deserve to be treated better than this. I'm sorry. But I can change. I'm going to treat you better. I'm going to give you the love and attention you deserve. Ahem. Yes. I don't like the bent over row and I do neglect it sometimes and that's not good. But I'm going to start taking it more seriously. Working on the things I don't like as well as those I do, being considerate of all aspects, that's the order of this challenge. With that in mind; 1. Love the row. When it's time to do it (every second workout), then I do it, regardless if I'm running late or feeling tired. And take my time getting it right. 2. Squat my bodyweight. Not, to be clear, bodyweight squats. But the equivalent of my bodyweight on the bar. This one is ambitious; doable but with a decent risk I may not get it done in the allocated time. But I should be able to work my way up to that by the end of the challenge. 3. Fix breakfast. Ok, I love breakfast but I love sleep more. So weekends tend to be pretty good. But weekdays breakfast tends to be just a slice of toast at home and then a porridge or pot of Arla at work. Not bad for a regular day, but now that I'm strong lifts it's not enough. Make this better. 4. Love tea breaks. I've been at my 'new' work over half a year now. I still use the machines for coffees and teas. Expensive and not great tasting. So my final challenge is to bring in my own mug and coffee and tea bags. Should be an easy win.

After a long injury-driven hiatus, I am back. My reasons for being gone may be found in my daily battle log, so I will not waste keystrokes on them here. Suffice to say, I have returned for the nerds and the fitness (and just a smidge of rebellion). For this challenge, I will conquer the first of my long-term goals. I will surpass a 450# deadlift. I hit 445# at the end of February, so this should be very achievable. Now then, lest I be accused of tossing myself a softball for my first challenge back, I shall also tackle my fitness Achilles' heel. The double-under. Once upon a time, when I was a new, wet-behind-the-ears crossfitter, I could string together 19 double unders. That was two years and many lacerated shins and thrown ropes ago. For this challenge, I shall attempt to attain 20 consecutive double-unders. I hate myself already for including this in my challenge. Finally, to round things out, I want to break 1:30 in the 500m row. So my goal for this challenge will be 1:29. I hit 1:31 in July of 2013, but since that summer, my fastest has been 1:37 (last year). So there we have it, a good mix of relatively easy, challenging, and incredibly arduous and vexing.

Hi all, I'm currently in the process of trying to expand on my training plan that is a little bit basic and I'm turning to you all for suggestions. At the moment, my general workout is some variant of the following: - 1km warm up run, 2km fast row, 10km cycle - 1km warm up run, 5km fast row (as much as is possible), 5km cycle - 1km run, 8km interval training row (3min slow, 1 min fast), 5km cycle. I try to do this 4/5 times a week and all are on indoor machines with the run outdoors on the way to the gym. So I guess what I'm looking to do is add a bit of variety to my training. To be honest I actually don't mind doing moment as I enjoy the rowing and I am getting some really good results. It feels like a good mix of cardio which I love and strength training which I suck at. I also enjoy running but that is off the menu for anything longer then 1km due to injury. I guess I am just looking to step it up a little and avoid getting bored in the future. I know the first suggestions from everyone is to be to get on the free weights. Whilst I don't mine doing that, I am still new to them and am looking to add just a few small exercises to complement what I am doing for now. I can add more later. My other question is: is there any particular muscle groups I should be working on to complement my rowing? From what I understand and from what I have seen, it is a pretty even process but it can't hurt to ask. Anyway, thanks in advance for your help

Deadlift is only the first rep, because frankly, the rest of them were terrible and looked like my last formcheck. So I just want to see if I'm correct in judging this rep as 'pretty good'. Deadlift 245lbs Rows: I realized halfway through my sets that I had accidentally put 155lb on the bar, instead of the intended 150lbs. Woops. A few of my own critiques: I'm using a hip drive to pull the weight, and I'm bringing my chest to the bar to complete the repI'm not lined up over the bar, so it isn't moving in a straight line. Barbell Row 155lbs Thanks again!

Hi everyone. I would appreciate any feedback on my form on these three exercises. I used very light weight for each, as I want to make sure my technique is correct before training seriously. I think my form is not horrible but could use improvement. Be gentle please, I'm new to all this Sorry for the poor video quality, but they should do. Deadlift Overhead Press (Leaning back a little too far?) Bent Over Row (bar touched my chest on each rep, not evident in the video)